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Funeral For Pope Francis To Be Held On Saturday; Exclusive Look At Trump Portrait Gifted By Putin; Gunmen Kill 26 Himalayan Tourists; Trump Won't Play "Hard Ball" With China; U.S. Lawmakers Visits Khalil And Ozturk; Embattled Hegseth Remains Defiant Despite Leaks, Disarray; First Glimpse Of Trump Portrait Gifted By Putin. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired April 23, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: How Pope Francis rewrote the rules for a simpler, more down to Earth papal funeral. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Service, humility, and simplicity are the hallmarks of Francis in life and also in death.
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VAUSE: After lying in state for three days, Pope Francis will be buried Saturday.
Also, the art of the blink.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm not going to say, oh, I'm going to play hard war with China now. We're going to be very nice.
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VAUSE: All of this racing hopes of a possible trade deal between Washington and Beijing, and an end to weeks of economic turmoil.
And also, from Russia with love.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: You can see the Russian artist who we met in Moscow was pretty kind showing Trump looking heroic, even trim.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: An exclusive look at the painting reportedly commissioned by Vladimir Putin for his very good friend, Donald Trump.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause. VAUSE: The body of Pope Francis will soon be lying in state at St. Peter's Basilica, and for the next three days, the faithful will have a chance to pay their respects to a pontiff of often called the people's pope. A few hours from now, the pope's coffin will be moved from the Santa Maria guest house where Francis lived to St. Peter's after a senior Vatican official, known as a camerlengo or chamberlain, holds a short prayer service.
The Holy Father lying in state, cardinals will be the first to pay their respects, and after that, the doors will open to the public. The pope's funeral scheduled for this coming Saturday, 10:30 a.m. local time. The U.S. president is among the world leaders expected to attend. Notably, this will be Donald Trump's first foreign trip of his second term.
CNN's Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb explains who will be there and who will not.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: A location steeped in history, the home of the popes. St. Peter's Square, soon to be the setting of Pope Francis' funeral mass. Set to host thousands Saturday morning coming to pray and pay their last respects to a hugely popular Pope Francis.
Francis who won people over with his down to Earth style and humility. Before the funeral, the faith will have a chance to say goodbye to the pope as he lies in state in St. Peter's Basilica, in a simple coffin and not on crimson cushions.
Francis insisting his farewell befitting for a shepherd and a disciple, and not of a powerful man of this world. Historically, papal funerals have been some of the most watched events in the world. Moving ceremonies attended by heads of state and visiting dignitaries. Leaders from across the world are expected to pay their respects to a moral voice on the world stage who prioritize peace, the planet, and the plight of migrants.
Already confirmed to attend Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of France's Native Argentina, Javier Milei, and President Donald Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he won't attend.
St. Peter's Basilica has been the traditional burial place of many popes. But this pontiff has become the first in a century to choose a different resting place. Francis' body will be taken to Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial.
He talked about that wish in a 2023 interview.
POPE FRANCIS (through translator): The place is already prepared. I want to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore.
LAMB (voice-over): The first pope since the 17th century to be buried at the basilica, a place he regularly visited, particularly before and after foreign trips. In his will, he made a final request for a tomb, which must be in the ground, simple, without particular decoration and with only the inscription, Franciscus.
Even in death Francis is a pope who continues to leave a message to the world and the church he led for more than a decade.
Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.
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VAUSE: With us now live from New York is Father Sam Sawyer, a Jesuit priest, as well as president and editor of America Media, a Jesuit publication. Father, thank you for being with us.
FATHER SAM SAWYER, JESUIT PRIEST: Good to be here. Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: So, in his will, Pope Francis requested his tomb should be in the ground, simple, without particular ornamentation, bearing only the inscription, Franciscus, which is Francis in Latin. And all of this was a reflection of how he lived his life.
And back in November, Pope Francis announced new rules for papal burials. Here's the headline from The New York Times at the time, less pomp, fewer coffins, a specific reference to reducing the number of coffins from three down to one. But the changes Francis announced back then, which will become evident in the coming days, were about a lot more logistics. What was the message he was sending with these changes?
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SAWYER: Well, I think the message he was sending as he sent throughout his papacy was that the shepherd needs to smell like and be close to the sheep. He really wanted to communicate through that simplicity, not just, you know, a spiritual simplicity and a closeness to the poor, but also a closeness to real people. And the idea that the church was accessible and that the church -- you know, his ministry was about wanting to be with people, not about wanting to be above people or beyond people. And I think the revisions to the funeral right, also have that kind of closeness that being with people.
VAUSE: Yes. And he sort of started this on day one when he paid his own hotel bill as pope. According to archbishop --
SAWYER: Well, and --
VAUSE: Yes, go on.
SAWYER: I was saying, the -- I think the iconic image for me, even before the hotel bill, was he came out on the balcony and before he blessed everyone in his first act as pope, he bowed his head and they asked people to pray for him.
VAUSE: Yes, that's a good point. The Archbishop Diego Ravelli, he said, the funeral of the Roman pontiff of is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ and not of a powerful person of this world. So, how different will this papal funeral be compared to Pope Benedict, a man who very much enjoyed the sort of lavish traditions and trappings of office?
SAWYER: Well, you know, I think one difference, of course, is that Benedict, you know, his funeral was long, long after his papacy because of his stunning and really revolutionary act of resignation. So, in this sense, we're -- because we're burying a pope without a pope, it's been years now since we've done that and I don't think -- you know, at this point the memory of John Paul II's funeral is pretty far back.
So, this experience of the whole church being in mourning together, but also being in this moment of transition and waiting, not knowing where the Conclave is going to lead us, or you know, who the new pope is going to be, I think it's a moment of deeper reflection of the church really asking, what is God doing? And how is God working with the church in this moment of transition and change?
VAUSE: A few hours from now, Francis' coffin will be moved from his apartment at the guest house to St. Peter's, and that'll give the public three days a chance to give -- pay their respects, rather, to Pope Francis. Given just how populous this pope will be, is three days enough?
SAWYER: I expect the lines are going to be intense. I mean, Rome -- the lines in Rome are already intense this year because it's a jubilee year and many, many pilgrims are traveling to Rome. This will be, I think, about the -- about as intense as you could ever imagine those lines being.
But, you know, the one thing that Francis left clear in the regulations, the pope gets buried six days after he died. And that's still when we've got the funeral scheduled.
VAUSE: You got to stick with the rules. And Father Sam in New York, thank you for being with us. Really appreciate it.
SAWYER: Thanks.
VAUSE: Well, Indian authorities are searching for a gunman who shot and killed at least 26 people in the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir. Dozens were also wounded in the attack Tuesday, which appeared to target tourists. Officials still don't know if foreign nationals are among the victims. Militant groups have battled Indian security forces in the region for decades, but attacks on tourists are rare.
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RAFI AHMAD MIR, GENERAL SECRETARY OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR APNI PARTY (through translator): We request to the tourists who are coming to Jammu and Kashmir that they should not panic. There is peace in the region and the government is also with us. The incident will be thoroughly investigated and we need to stay strong and united.
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VAUSE: Following the attack, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, expressed condolences. He also promised to bring the gunman to justice.
A rebound on Wall Street after the U.S. treasury secretary told investors the trade war between Washington and Beijing is unsustainable and he expects a de-escalation. Those remarks were enough for U.S. stocks to surge. All three major indexes closed up 2.5 percent or more, helping recover the markets losses from a sell-off on Monday, the Yin and the Yang.
At the same time, U.S. President Donald Trump says he isn't playing hardcore with China and he believes the two countries can make a deal a nice deal. Listen.
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TRUMP: I am not going to say, oh, I'm going to play hardball with China. I'm going to play hardball with you, President Xi. No, no. We're going to be very nice. They're going to be very nice and we'll see what happens. But ultimately, they have to make a deal because otherwise they're not going to be able to deal in the United States.
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VAUSE: The International Monetary Fund predicts Trump's tariffs and countermeasures from U.S. trading partners will hit economic growth worldwide, projecting global growth to reach 2.8 percent this year. That's down from January's forecast of 3.3 percent.
(INAUDIBLE) expects the U.S. to see a significant slowdown. Its growth forecast for the year is now at 1.8 percent, down nearly one percentage point from January.
Let's go live to Beijing. CNN's Steven Jiang is standing by. So, how does China feel about this very nice not playing hardball deal that Donald Trumps is now talking about?
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STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, John, they haven't officially responded just yet, but from their perspective, I think many people, both inside and the outside, the Chinese government would probably agree that without having to do anything, Beijing already seemed to have the upper hand here because in stark contrast to all these flip flops and twists and turns from Washington, the Chinese have been consistently standing their ground saying they would fight this trade war to the end, while not completely shutting the door for potential talk.
They have been emphasizing they will not negotiate under any threats or pressure, because they have been studying Trump for a long time. The conclusion seems to be that the only language the president speaks and respects is leverage and concessions will only invite more pressure. So, this contrast is very interesting because I just talked to a deeply connected source a few days ago, and they say they notice sometimes even when Trump sweet-talks about China, and sweet-talks about his relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, you would only then have his cabinet members come out quickly to spew out the same hawkish or even hostile views towards Beijing.
And this war (ph) said, given Trump's total control over his people doing this administration, that by not publicly rejecting these hostile views towards Beijing that they think the president is actually condoning them. That runs counter to the three things they want to see from the White House before any trade talks could happen. And those three things, John, are sincerity, reciprocity, and most importantly, consistency. John.
VAUSE: Sincerity. That's all we need. Sincerity. Steven Jiang in Beijing, thank you. Elon Musk says he plans to scale back on his White House commitments to slash government spending and wants to return to Tesla. That's after a new earnings report showed weak results for the start of the year.
First quarter, Tesla's total revenue down 9 percent with auto revenue down 20 percent. Adjusted income also tumbled nearly 40 percent. Musk says he would continue to advise President Trump if he's asked.
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ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: Starting probably in next month in May, my time allegation to DOGE will drop significantly. I think I'll continue to spend, you know, a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so, and as long as it is useful. But starting next month, I'll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla. And now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done.
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VAUSE: Swinging the chainsaw with DOGE has been largely blamed for a dip in Tesla's profits, distracting Musk from the job of running a company. It's prompted protests, outside showrooms, violent vandalism to Tesla cars and facilities, a lot of blowback.
Still to come here on CNN, a university student and recent graduate, both arrested just speaking out against the war in Gaza. How Democratic lawmakers are bringing attention to their case of Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk.
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VAUSE: Congressional Democrats have made a high-profile trip to meet with the Columbia graduate and Tufts University student detained by the Trump administration after speaking out against the war in Gaza. Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, both legal U.S. residents, are facing deportation. The White House accusing them, without evidence, of being terrorist sympathizers, supporting Hamas, though neither is charged with any actual crime. On Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers travel to Louisiana detention centers where Khalil and Ozturk are being held. They say both are political prisoners used by the Trump administration to silence dissent.
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REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): If anyone is tempted to marginalize who they are coming for and to other this and to say that's happening to them, but not I, it could be you tomorrow. They are setting the foundational floor to violate the due process and free speech of every person who calls this country home, whatever your status is.
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VAUSE: And Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley joins us now from Baton Rouge in Louisiana. Congresswoman, thank you for your time.
PRESSLEY: Absolutely.
VAUSE: One of the main reasons for this visit was to see firsthand conditions at these two detention facilities where Khalil and Ozturk are being held, both without charge. So, what's your assessment?
PRESSLEY: Well, you know, first, let me just say the reason why I came here is because they both have experienced, you know, violations of their constitutional rights to due process, a violation of free speech, and our freedoms and our destinies are truly tied. You know, these are acute implications specifically for the lives of Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, my constituents, but they have implications for everyone.
And my assessment is that despite the harrowing conditions that they have both endured -- in the harrowing conditions that they've endured in -- throughout this time in their abduction where they feared for their lives, and despite the indignities and the injustices they continue to experience in these detention facilities their spirits are still bright. They still have hope and they are still advocating. They are still doing what they did before they were abducted.
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VAUSE: One of the White House officials behind this plan for mass deportations is Stephen Miller. He spoke to Fox just a few hours ago. This is part of what he had to say.
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STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: We are watching the Democrat party twist itself into knots to give every illegal alien terrorist and MS-13 and Tren de Aragua more process, more court time, more intervention than any innocent American citizen has ever received. It turns my stomach. Americans want these terrorists the hell out of our country.
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VAUSE: There is a lot there. What's your response?
PRESSLEY: My response is that they have not been convicted of any crime. They have simply been disappeared from their communities, separated from their families. Mahmoud Khalil, his first-born child, his son was born yesterday. He was not there for the birth of his son. He is someone who has been fighting for equality and for the freedoms for everyone. Rumeysa Ozturk was making incredible important contributions of the PhD student at Tufts University. And she was abducted, convicted of no crime. All she did was co-author an op-ed centering the humanity and the dignity of all people.
And they have been kidnapped. They are political prisoners. And they are now, being warehoused where they are experiencing medical neglect, sleep deprivation, inadequate meals. The trauma and the fear is palpable. This is chilling. It is harrowing. And of course, that is the point. The cruelty is the point. And they mean to stoke fear in all of us so that people will stop living their lives, stop exercising their constitutional rights to free speech.
You know, one of the things I was most struck by is Mahmoud said that he lived in Syria under Assad and he knows what it is to live under authoritarian regime. And this is it. Donald Trump is a dictator, and the only way to meet a dictator is with defiance. And that's why we would conduct oversight to shine a light on this.
VAUSE: Yes. And, Congressman Jim McGovern was also part of the delegation. This is what he had to say after the visit.
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REP. JIM MCGOVERN (D-MA): We're not in El Salvador, we're not in Russia, we're not in China. We're in the United States of America. And yet, there are people who are incarcerated in detention centers, not because they committed any crime, but because of what they believe, what they've written.
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VAUSE: In some cases, it's not even clear that is in fact the reason why they've been detained. In many cases, it seems that just the low hanging fruit, the easy ones to intimidate. And that then begs the question, who's next on this list? Where does it go from here?
PRESSLEY: These have implications for everyone. People of conscience should be very alarmed. This is really about due process. And now, where they're being warehoused, we see a violation of their human rights. And again, what I was most struck by is that they still have hope. They still had a smile on their face despite the harrowing experiences that they endured during their abduction and now the indignities that they continue to experience in these detention facilities in Basile and in Gina respectively. Some of the worst conditions, you know, in our for-profit prison system.
VAUSE: In terms of the right to due process, we heard from President Trump on that day on who will be given that right and who will not. Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I hope we get cooperation from the courts because, you know, we have thousands of people that are ready to go out and you can't have a trial for all of these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Instead of seeing the Constitution as the bedrock of American democracy, does this administration look at it as an obstacle for their agenda, something they had to work around?
PRESSLEY: Well, clearly. I mean, we have, you know, Trump and his second occupancy who rejects the rule of law, doesn't respect separation of powers, coequal branches of government, has contempt for every person who calls this country home and does not respect the contribution -- the Constitution. He's not just poking holes in it, he's shredding it entirely.
And so, I'm not surprised by his reaction. But again, we have to stand up and reject this dystopian lawless view for this country that Donald Trump has. We have to reject it at every single turn, and that's why we went there today to conduct this congressional oversight, to hear from Mahmoud and Rumeysa directly so that we can carry their stories in our heart and that of every person that we met today.
VAUSE: Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, thank you so much for your time and joining us here on CNN Newsroom.
PRESSLEY: Thank you.
VAUSE: Still to come doubling down, defiant, and denial. The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, again claims he did nothing wrong in a second Signal group chat, but the turmoil at the Pentagon might not end there.
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VAUSE: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm John Vause. Let's check today's top stories.
In the coming hours, a ceremonial procession will begin for Pope Francis with his coffin taken from the chapel of the Santa Maria guest house to St. Peter's Basilica where he will lie and state. Cardinals will first have a chance to pay their respects, after that, doors will be open to the public.
Indian Security Forces searching for a gunman behind a deadly attack on tourists in the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir. At least 26 people were killed, a dozen wounded on Tuesday. Still unclear if foreign nationals are among the victims.
U.S. President Donald Trump says the high tariffs on Chinese goods will come down substantially. Signaling a possible U-turn in his trade war with Beijing. U.S. treasury secretary reportedly told investors he expects the U.S.-China trade war to de-escalate in the near future.
Under great pressure under a second Signal-gate controversy, U.S. defense secretary has come out swinging, blaming the leakers. And that includes three former senior Pentagon aides who hat includes three former senior Pentagon aides who were meant to be loyalists.
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But, as Pete Hegseth put it, once a leaker, always a leaker.
But also, he says, members of his family, as well as his lawyer, were not included in a second Signal group chat. But still, there could be more turmoil at the Pentagon, as CNN's Alex Marquardt reports.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Defiant, defensive, and accusing the deep state, Pete Hegseth coming out swinging today, trying to justify the revelations of a second Signal chat with highly-sensitive attack plans and the turmoil which a top aide who just left the Pentagon called total chaos and a full-blown meltdown.
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Once a leaker, always a leaker.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Hegseth telling former colleagues on FOX News that three senior officials who were close to him at the Pentagon were fired for leaking classified information, which they deny.
HEGSETH: So, if they want to keep leaking and pushing and peddling things to try to sabotage the president's agenda, that's unfortunate. But that's how leaking works in this town.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): The circle around the defense secretary of those he trusts is shrinking, some around him so frustrated, sources say, they're threatening to resign.
One person familiar with Hegseth's thinking over the last month told CNN, "He's in full paranoia, back-against-the-wall mode."
Embattled, Hegseth is also trying to downplay a second chat on the Signal app, which he started and in which he shared highly-sensitive information about plans for U.S. warplanes to strike the Houthis in Yemen.
HEGSETH: What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordinations for media coordination and other things. That's what I've said from the beginning.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Unlike the first chat that was revealed, which was primarily made up of top Trump officials, this second one included his wife, his brother, and his lawyer, none of whom would likely need to know about an imminent military strike.
President Donald Trump has so far backed his secretary of defense, but according to sources, he has been asking for feedback from people around him about Hegseth.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They just bring up stories. I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees. You know, he was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that's what he's doing. So, you don't always have friends when you do that.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): The White House said Hegseth is doing a phenomenal job.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): That was then echoed in a post on X.
HEGSETH: Let's go.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): More bad news for Hegseth may come soon. His chief spokesman, a longtime supporter who left on his own last week, wrote, "There are very likely more shoes to drop in short order, with even bigger bombshell stories coming."
BRETT MCGUIRK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I've worked for six secretaries of defense. I've worked for four presidents. I've never seen anything like this, with high-level appointees from the administration -- these are political appointees, people that Hegseth chose -- coming out and telling the American people this.
So, I think there's a lot more below the surface.
MARQUARDT: There's now a new example of this chaos under Hegseth. Sources telling CNN that last month, he bypassed Defense Department lawyers and directly asked the director of some of the Pentagon's most classified programs to brief Elon Musk on more than two dozen of these programs about China.
Now, ultimately, DOD ethics lawyers said that would not be appropriate. So, the idea went away.
But on Tuesday, Hegseth referred to previous reporting about that meeting with Musk at the Pentagon last month as an example of why he is so focused on rooting out leakers.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, a gift from one president to another. The artist commissioned by the Kremlin to paint a portrait of Donald Trump, explains his vision for a rather fetching portrayal of the U.S. president.
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[00:33:06] VAUSE: Heavy earth-moving machinery used to clear rubble and recover bodies in Gaza has been destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, according to Gaza's civil defense.
Several bulldozers, a water tanker, and a sewage truck were among the vehicles destroyed Tuesday.
The Israeli military says it targeted vehicles used by Hamas for terror purposes but did not provide evidence to support that claim.
Ukraine's president says, if a ceasefire with Russia can be reached, he's ready for talks with Vladimir Putin. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with reporters Tuesday, stressing the need for a pause in the fighting before starting discussions with Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If the Russians are ready for a complete ceasefire, then after a complete ceasefire, with an understanding of how long it will last, we are ready for any format of negotiations with them. Any format.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was open to talks with Ukraine. Putin even said Russia has, quote, "a positive attitude towards a ceasefire."
These two countries have not held direct talks since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Well, now from Russia with love. A CNN exclusive looking at the portrait of Donald Trump gifted by Vladimir Putin. It shows President Trump raising his fist after last July's failed assassination attempt, slight blood smeared across his face. Fist pumping the air.
CNN's Matthew Chance spoke to the artist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIKAS SAFRONOV, ARTIST: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: It was very important for me to show the blood, the scar and his bravery during the attempt on his life.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well, this is the first glimpse of what we're told is a portrait gifted to President Trump by Vladimir Putin in March.
CHANCE: You can see the Russian artist, who we met in Moscow --
CHANCE (voice-over): -- was pretty kind, showing Trump looking heroic, even trim.
SAFRONOV: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: He didn't break down or become afraid, but raised his arm to show he is one with America and will bring back what it deserves.
[00:40:12]
CHANCE: The painting, handed to Trump envoy --
CHANCE (voice-over): -- Steve Witkoff, was clearly meant to flatter as Trump and Putin discuss ending the Ukraine war and rebuilding ties.
CHANCE: And apparently, it worked. Witkoff said Trump --
CHANCE (voice-over): -- was touched at what he called the beautiful portrait.
Safronov is one of Russia's most famous artists and has painted dozens of world leaders before: the late Pope Francis and, of course, Vladimir Putin.
The Trump painting, he told me, was commissioned by a patron he suspected was the Kremlin,
SAFRONOV: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: I realized this could bring our countries closer.
CHANCE: Later, he says he was contacted by President Putin himself --
CHANCE (voice-over): -- who told him the flattering Trump portrait was an important step in Russia's relationship with the United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Matthew Chance there.
I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break.
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